Economy of Galapagos Islands
Overview
FOLLOWING INFORMATION IS BASED ON ECUADOR INCLUDING GALAPAGOS: Ecuador has substantial petroleum resources, which have accounted for 40% of the country's export earnings and one-third of central government budget revenues in recent years. Consequently, fluctuations in world market prices can have a substantial domestic impact. In the late 1990s, Ecuador suffered its worst economic crisis, with natural disasters and sharp declines in world petroleum prices driving Ecuador's economy into free fall in 1999. Real GDP contracted by more than 6%, with poverty worsening significantly. The banking system also collapsed, and Ecuador defaulted on its external debt later that year. The currency depreciated by some 70% in 1999, and, on the brink of hyperinflation, the MAHAUD government announced it would dollarize the economy. A coup, however, ousted MAHAUD from office in January 2000, and after a short-lived junta failed to garner military support, Vice President Gustavo NOBOA took over the presidency. In March 2000, Congress approved a series of structural reforms that also provided the framework for the adoption of the US dollar as legal tender. Dollarization stabilized the economy, and growth returned to its pre-crisis levels in the years that followed. Under the administration of Lucio GUTIERREZ - January 2003 to April 2005 - Ecuador benefited from higher world petroleum prices. However, the government under Alfredo PALACIO reversed economic reforms that reduced Ecuador's vulnerability to petroleum price swings and financial crises, allowing the central government greater access to oil windfalls and disbursing surplus retirement funds.
GDP
Real Growth Rate
4%
Per Capita
USD 4,500
From Agriculture
6%
From Industry
34%
From Services
60%
Labour Force
Available for Work
457,000
Working in Agriculture
8%
Working in Industry
24%
Working in Services
68%
Unemployment Rate
11%
Population Below Poverty Line
38%
Inflation Rate
3%
Investment as Percent of GDP
23%
Budget
Revenues
USD 11,500 (m)
Expenditures
USD 10,460 (m)
Public Debt
US$ 36.00 (m)
Agricultural Products
Bananas, coffee, cocoa, rice, potatoes, manioc (tapioca), plantains, sugarcane; cattle, sheep, pigs, beef, pork, dairy products; balsa wood; fish, shrimp
Core Industries
Petroleum, food processing, textiles, wood products, chemicals
Exports
Value
USD 12,560 (m)
Commodities
Petroleum, bananas, cut flowers, shrimp
Partners
US 51.2%, Peru 8.1%, Colombia 4.4%, Chile 4.1% (2006)
Imports
Value
USD 10,810 (m)
Commodities
Vehicles, medicinal products, telecommunications equipment, electricity
Partners
US 25.3%, Colombia 15.2%, Brazil 7.4%, China 6.6%, Japan 4% (2006)
External Debt
USD 18,100 (m)
Fiscal Year
Calendar year